Cathy Parker Sonora, CA — The COVID-19 pandemic has been very challenging for educators, students and families with distance learning. Recently, the state has lifted some of its mandates and Governor Gavin Newsom has made a push to get students back into the classroom. For an overview of where things stand now for schools, we turned to Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Cathy Parker for an update. She is this weekend’s Mother Lode Views guest. Parker covered topics include how students, parents and teachers are dealing with the pandemic especially since returning to in-person learning, COVID restriction changes by the state and feds, as well as the future. Parker spoke about the lasting impacts of the virus, “We’ll never do education the same way again. We’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned what we need to do better and different ways of doing things that actually benefit kids. So, we hope not to lose some of those good lessons learned and to provide education in a way that meets all learners, no matter where they are.”